The OPM-managed RISE programme looks to expand as funding support increases

Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) is a large scale, multi-country research programme that seeks to understand how school systems in low- and middle-income countries can overcome the learning crisis and deliver better learning for all. Having begun operation in 2015, RISE has now seen a significant increase in funding from DFID, as part of the UK government’s larger programme to tackle the global learning crisis and achieve sustainable development goals relating to education. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will also join DFID and Australia’s DFAT in a partnership to support education systems research through RISE, creating greater impact in low- and middle-income countries around the world.

This additional support means that RISE (which OPM manages and implements alongside the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and the Center for Global Development) can now extend beyond the programme’s initial six research countries: Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Vietnam. This expansion will lead to a broader evidence base of what works, and what doesn’t work, in education system reform. Alongside additional country-specific research, new activities will include a synthesis of findings around core policy issues and the development of education system diagnostics informed by RISE research.

“The continued support from DFID and the new partnership with the Gates Foundation acknowledges the meaningful contributions of RISE research to ongoing policy debates in global education,” said RISE Research Director Lant Pritchett. “Millions of children around the world leave primary school without acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills. These new resources from our partners will allow us to expand and deepen the world class research RISE produces to inform education systems reform and move closer to a world where every child leaves basic schooling equipped with the capabilities they need to reach their full potential.”

Girindre Beeharry, Director, Global Education Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, added: “We learned a great deal from RISE as we considered how to focus our strategy to make a meaningful contribution to improving education systems globally. This partnership is a natural alignment of our work. We are pleased to join DFID and DFAT in supporting RISE research into the root causes of poor performance in education systems, and in the development of approaches that are best suited to a country’s specific circumstances to improve teaching and learning.”

You can read more details about RISE’s work in our description of the project, or on RISE’s website.

Image credit: Nikin Rarasati